Time’s Up consulted Cuomo Aide after first allegation: report

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Time’s Up, the controversial Hollywood star-launched women’s organization recently, has reportedly decided not to publicly support former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s first accuser.

According to a new report from the Washington Post, executives at Time’s Up worked closely with Cuomo’s office when his first accuser of sexual harassment, Lindsey Boylan, came forward.

The briefing goes into great detail, providing alleged text messages from December 2020, when Cuomo’s accusations first struck, between leaders of the organization, including beleaguered CEO Tina Tchen, who reportedly told his staff to “withdraw” from issuing a public statement in support of Boylan.

Variety did not authorize the validity of the text messages printed in the Washington Post report. Time’s Up did not respond to Variety’s requests for comment on Wednesday night.

However, Time’s Up’s board of directors released a statement to the Post, stating that the organization is committed to “an independent review of our past actions, our current work as well as developing processes and improvements. necessary to continue our mission, “promising to make the results of the public scrutiny.

The Post’s story comes as Time’s Up and its leader Chen – who previously held several positions in the Obama White House and was Michelle Obama’s chief of staff – were in the midst of a crisis.

The organization is currently interviewing outside consulting firms, Variety learned, to conduct an internal assessment. The consultant is expected to be hired as early as this week, although meetings and talks are ongoing, sources say.

Earlier this week, an emergency meeting was called at Time’s Up. After the meeting, multiple sources told Variety that Tchen would remain in her post and that there had been a strong outpouring of support for her, despite a series of missteps compromising the group and the explosive report from the New York attorney general. , who found that Cuomo had sex harassed 11 women and implicated Time’s Up in dealing with his allegations.

The attorney general’s investigation found that the law firm of Time’s Up founder Roberta Kaplan represents Melissa DeRosa, a former Cuomo assistant who helped draft a letter slandering Boylan. The AG found that Kaplan also spoke with DeRosa about a draft letter that would respond to Boylan’s accusations, which she read to Tchen at the time. The investigation described the letter as part of “illegal retaliation” against Boylan.

Following the report, Kaplan resigned, amid an outcry from survivors of sexual assault. Since Kaplan resigned, Tchen has said that she cannot remember the details of her conversation with Kaplan and that the letter is meant to be disparaging against women.

When Boylan accused Cuomo, the former governor was hailed by Hollywood for his leadership during the COVID-19 crisis, and paraded through the television stations on a continuous victory lap. At the time, Cuomo’s name appeared on several occasions as a possible future presidential candidate, and he even received an Emmy for his use of television as a medium to provide information to the public during the early days of the pandemic. (This week, the International Television Academy withdrew her award, amid allegations of sexual harassment.)

On Monday of this week, an internal meeting was called between the members of the board of directors of Time’s Up, which followed a story from the New York Times last weekend that revealed even more details about Kaplan working closely together. with DeRosa, alleging that she seemed to side with Cuomo’s office, instead of supporting one of his accusers.

During the meeting, insiders said Tchen apologized to board members and said she had never been in direct communication with the governor. Tchen spoke with a forward-looking tone, according to those at the meeting, who say she had strong support and has no plans to step down. (Earlier this week, a spokesperson for Time’s Up confirmed to Variety that Tchen had no plans to step down.)

But despite everything, while many survivors strongly support Chen, some victims are fiercely calling for Chen to be ousted from Time’s Up. In fact, following the attorney general’s investigation, the survivors of sexual assault wrote an open letter, stating that the organization had failed them.

Along with the Washington Post story, more damning details have been reported about Tchen.

According to the report, Tchen texted some of the leaders in her group to say that she didn’t think it would be appropriate for Time’s Up to issue a press statement requesting comment on Boylan’s accusations. Specifically, Fox News was the outlet asking Time’s Up for comment at the time.

Board member Hilary Rosen, vice president of communications firm SKDK, told the Post on Wednesday that she did not want “serious allegations of sexual harassment” to be politicized, saying Fox News “had the reputation for doing just that “.

According to the Post’s report, Tchen wrote in one of his texts: “I agree with [sic] hilarious. History is everywhere with this survivor.

Tchen told the Post on Wednesday, “I was referring to Lindsey’s story making headlines. I wasn’t saying I didn’t believe Lindsey.

According to the Post, in a separate text, Tchen texted the group about a possible media statement. “I just looked at the statement and I’m not even sure I like it on [sic] it deserves to be heard, ”Tchen would have written in an SMS. “She’s been in the context where she wants to be heard, so no one is saying she shouldn’t, but the way she talks while not wanting to speak more doesn’t mean she wants to be heard more. So I won’t say anything at this time.

In another, she allegedly admitted that Kaplan was on communication with DeRosa. “Robbie is talking directly to Melissa now. Let’s put other efforts aside for now, ”Tchen said in an alleged text message.

Tchen responded to the Post’s story on Wednesday, explaining that Time’s Up chose not to publicly provide a statement of support for Boylan when she brought charges against the governor, but said the organization had asked the office de Cuomo to conduct an internal review of their workplace. culture.

“We also suggested that the governor’s office respond by conducting a review of their workplace culture. In the end, we decided not to comment given our policy, but in doing so, we had no intention of silencing Ms Boylan or any survivors, ”Tchen told the Post, in part. “I deeply regret that the survivors, who have already endured a lot, feel abandoned and betrayed. It was not my intention.”

Boylan asked Tchen to step down, and his lawyer told the Post the organization needed to do better.

While Time’s Up did not immediately respond to Variety’s request for comment tonight, earlier this week Tchen made a statement to Variety, promising that she would put survivors first and believe in her organization’s mission. to do.

“There are survivors in leadership, in our staff and in our community, representing different experiences and perspectives, who are actively engaged in the conversation about how best to move forward,” Tchen told Variety exclusively on Monday, after the internal meeting. “We are grateful for their leadership which has helped us prepare to move forward in a way that addresses the damage and centers the needs and leadership of the communities of survivors we seek to serve. We know we haven’t done the best job in the past, but we’re committed to ensuring that our process and the work that comes from it is informed by survivors every step of the way.

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